Another bomb threat found at Winchester High

Thursday

Jan 31, 2008 at 12:01 AMJan 31, 2008 at 1:30 PM

A second bomb threat has been found scrawled on the wall of a Winchester High School bathroom. According to a source at the school, the most recent threat was found Thursday morning in the same third-floor bathroom as the last incident, on Jan. 15.

Rory Schuler and Eric Tsetsi/Staff Writers

A second bomb threat has been found scrawled on the wall of a Winchester High School bathroom. According to a source at the school, the most recent threat was found Thursday morning in the same third-floor bathroom as the last incident, on Jan. 15.

The newest threat warned: “[expletive] this school — Bomb on Monday.”

School officials may implement a security plan, if the author of the latest threat has not been found by the opening bell Monday.

The School Department issued the following statement:

"This morning a specific, low-level bomb threat was found in a boy’s restroom at the high school. The actual wording was:

'______ this school. Bomb on Monday.'

"School Resource Officer Perenick, who is also commander of the regional STARS (School Threat Assessment Response Systems) team, determined that the threat was low-level, but the school administration and the Winchester Police Department are treating this threat seriously. The school administration is working with the police department to determine the writer of this threat. If the writer of this threat is not discovered, a safety and security plan will be in place for school on Monday.

"Any type of bomb threat is not only a serious school offense, but also a very serious felony not tolerated in the court system. Please understand that Winchester High School takes threats of violence very seriously and we want to assure students, staff, and parents that the school is a safe environment for learning. If anyone has any information about this incident, please contact Mr. Gwin, Ms. Mochrie, Mr. Chapman or Officer Perenick.

" 'We’re still working the case,' Perenick said Thursday afternoon. 'And we’re going to make sure things are as safe as possible on Monday if we’re not able to solve this by then.' "

He would not say what type of security measures would be instituted if the crime remains unsolved.